United States Departmentof the Interior OFFICE OF TERRITORIES , WASHINGTON, D.C. 20240 Non, Edward E. Johnston High Commiesioner Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands Saipan, Mariana Islands 96950 E/ Do COLLECTION DOE/N V tae wa" BOX No. 4 FOLDER LAA E& on So REPOSITORY EXDA* & Bio- MED, DR.COMARD —~2 A Dear Mr. Johnston: 7° Dr. Robert A. Conard of the Brookhaven National Laboratory has sent me a copy of his letter to you of August 26. Dr. Conard, you will recall, has been involved for many yeara in following up the health of the Rongelap people and has recently been designated by the Atomic Energy Commission to monitor the health of the re- turning Bikini peopla. From our standpoint, and in recognition of the public concern about the health of the Rongelapese and the returning Bikinfians, we would hope that everything possible will be done to insure continuation of the monitoring program. We were somewhat surprised to see the . deletion of funds for the Rongelap survey in the budget for 1971 which you submitted to the Congress of Micronesia. We were surprised in two respacts -- one, that you provided funds for this \ \ \ purpose, and two, that it was deleted. It is our understanding that although Micronesian personnel have participated in the surveys, mo direct costs have been incurred by the Trust Territory Government. fi Dr. Conard also reported that the Bikini people may attempt to charge unreasonable rentals for the use of one of the bunkers which the Brookhaven people had hoped to use for health testing purposes. The original thinking in the Office of Territories, I am informed, was for the proposed Bikini dispensary to include whatever facilities might be needed for the future health examina~ tion requirements. This would seem to be a possible solution to the rental problen, I note that Dr. Conard indicates that he would like to meet with you in Saipan before the next Rongelap survey in March. If your time permits when you are here for budget hearings, it might be possible for Dr. Conard to come to Washington to visit with you. This is something which we might explore further, BEST COPY AVAILABLE ce: Dr. Conard Sincerely yours, Rlizabeth P. Farrington Director I052010 OTrnreern cane een mane te ne te